To a computer, 1024 is the round number and 1000 is not. One and the same value reads 156 in base 10, 10011100 in base 2 and 9C in base 16; the three spellings differ only in the weight each column carries. Four bits bundle into exactly one hex digit, which is why hex is shorthand for binary, visible in colour codes and memory addresses; three bits make one octal digit, a habit surviving in file permissions such as 755. Negative numbers use two’s complement — invert every bit, then add one — so eight bits span −128 to 127 and −1 is written 11111111.
To a computer, 1024 is the round number and 1000 is not. One and the same value reads 156 in base 10, 10011100 in base 2 and 9C in base 16; the three spellings differ only in the weight each column carries. Four bits bundle into exactly one hex digit, which is why hex is shorthand for binary, visible in colour codes and memory addresses; three bits make one octal digit, a habit surviving in file permissions such as 755. Negative numbers use two’s complement — invert every bit, then add one — so eight bits span −128 to 127 and −1 is written 11111111.
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